Settlement in tax evasion prosecution

It is often argued that even if optimal ex-post, settlement dilutes deterrence ex-ante. We analyze the interest for the tax authority of committing, ex-ante, to a settlement strategy. We show that to commit to the use of settlements is ex-ante optimal when the tax authority receives signals that provide statistical information about the taxpayers' true tax liability. The more informative the signal, the larger the additional expected evenue raised by the tax authority when using settlement as a policy tool.

Proposing a 'Consent Commons' in open education - balancing the desire for openness with the rights of people to refuse or withdraw from participation

A new 'Consent Commons' licensing framework is proposed, complementing Creative Commons, to clarify the permissions given for using and reusing clinical and non-clinical digital recordings of people (patients and non-patients) for educational purposes. Consent Commons is a sophisticated expression of ethically based 'digital professionalism', which recognises the rights of patients, carers, their families, teachers, clinicians, students and members of the public to have some say in how their digital recordings are used (including refusing or withdrawing their consent), and is necessary in order to ensure the long term sustainability of teaching materials, including Open Educational Resources (OER). Consent Commons can ameliorate uncertainty about the status of educational resources depicting people, and protect institutions from legal risk by developing robust and sophisticated policies and promoting best practice in managing their information.

Property enforcement as organized consent

This article develops and tests a theory of the institutions that makeproperty rights viable, ensuring their enforcement, mobilizing thecollateral value of assets and promoting growth. In contrast tocontractual rights, property rights are enforced in rem, being affectedonly with the consent of the right holder. This ensures enforcement butis costly when multiple, potentially colliding rights are held in thesame asset. Different institutions reduce the cost of gathering consentsto overcome this trade-off of enforcement benefits for consent costs:recording of deeds with title insurance, registration of rights and evena regimen of purely private transactions. All three provide functionallysimilar services, but their relative performance varies with the numberof transactions, the risk of political opportunism and regulatoryconsistency. The analysis also shows the rationality of allowingcompetition in the preparation and support of private contractswhile requiring territorial monopoly in recording and registrationactivities, this to ensure independence and protect third parties.

Judges' cognition and market order

We argue that during the crystallization of common and civil law in the 19th century, the optimal degree of discretion in judicial rulemaking, albeit influenced by the comparative advantages of both legislative and judicial rulemaking, was mainly determined by the anti-market biases of the judiciary. The different degrees of judicial discretion adopted in both legal traditions were thus optimally adapted to different circumstances, mainly rooted in the unique, market-friendly, evolutionary transition enjoyed by English common law as opposed to the revolutionary environment of the civil law. On the Continent, constraining judicial discretion was essential for enforcing freedom of contract and establishing a market economy. The ongoing debasement of pro-market fundamentals in both branches of the Western legal system is explained from this perspective as a consequence of increased perceptions of exogenous risks and changes in the political system, which favored the adoption of sharing solutions and removed the cognitive advantage of parliaments and political leaders.

Some like it hot: temperature and acidification modulate larval development and settlement of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula

We studied the effects of temperature and pH on larval development, settlement and juvenile survival of a Mediterranean population of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. Three temperatures (16, 17.5 and 19 °C) were tested at present pH conditions (pHT 8.1). At 19 °C, two pH levels were compared to reflect present average (pHT 8.1) and near-future average conditions (pHT 7.7, expected by 2100). Larvae were reared for 52-days to achieve the full larval development and complete the metamorphosis to the settler stage. We analyzed larval survival, growth, morphology and settlement success. We also tested the carry-over effect of acidification on juvenile survival after 3 days. Our results showed that larval survival and size significantly increased with temperature. Acidification resulted in higher survival rates and developmental delay. Larval morphology was significantly altered by low temperatures, which led to narrower larvae with relatively shorter skeletal rods, but larval morphology was only marginally affected by acidification. No carry-over effects between larvae and juveniles were detected in early settler survival, though settlers from larvae reared at pH 7.7 were significantly smaller than their counterparts developed at pH 8.1. These results suggest an overall positive effect of environmental parameters related to global change on the reproduction of A. lixula, and reinforce the concerns about the increasing negative impact on shallow Mediterranean ecosystems of this post-glacial colonizer.

The ager tarraconensis project (right side of river Francoli) (PAT): the application of geophysical survey to identify rural Roman settlement typologies

The methodology of the ager Tarraconensis project also included geophysical surveys aiming to distinguish different categories of rural settlements. Two geophysical techniques (resistivity and magnetometry) were combined to reveal traces of unearth structures from a selection of sites identified from the field survey. Results of geophysical surveys of these seven sites as well as conclusions obtained from this approach are discussed here.

Settlement evolution, field systems and sedimentary processes in a Mediterranean mid-mountain (Montseny Massif, Catalunya)

This paper presents the first results of a current research project about human – environmental interactions in the Montseny Massif. Our work sets out to integrate two research lines in the studied area: - Archaeological and archaeo-morphological surveys in a lower part of the mountains in order to characterize the evolution of the settlements and field systems. - The geological and geomorphological characterization of the slope and terrace deposits in relation with field systems and archaeological data. First results point out the intensive occupation of these inland areas during the Iberian and the Roman periods. Post-Roman sediments show different processes of erosion.

Ager Tarraconensis 5. Paisatge, poblament, cultura material i història = Landscape, Settlement, Material Culture and History Proceedings of the International Symposium

Aquesta obra recull 28 comunicacions presentades al Simposi internacional «L’ager Tarraconensis. Paisatge, poblament, cultura material i història», celebrat a Tarragona el 27 i 28 d’octubre del 2010, organitzat per l’Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica a la seu de l’Institut i a la Diputació de Tarragona. Les aportacions al simposi se centren en l'evolució del paisatge al Camp de Tarragona i en altres regions del món romà, en la varietat de les primeres estratègies de control romà del territori, en les tipologies i evolució dels establiments, en aspectes econòmics i en la dinàmica del poblament, sense faltar-hi alguna aportació de l'epigrafia. Tot plegat fa referència molt especialment al territori de Tarraco, tot i que el simposi també va comptar amb comunicacions sobre altres territoris de l'àrea catalana i saguntina i d'altres províncies romanes, com la Lusitània, les Gàl·lies i la Transpadana; les comparacions entre diferents regions han donat una riquesa notable al debat. Entre els resultats més suggerents comptem amb la constatació de la similitud en els models de romanització del territori en les diferents àrees d'àmbit català i valencià, que contrasten significativament amb els models de territoris d'Andalusia, França i Portugal.

La formació d'una política exterior per a l'Índia. La visita de Nehru a l'Espanya republicana durant la Guerra Civil

L'objectiu ha estat posar en relació dues realitats que fins al moment havien estat considerades completament alienes, com són l’Índia i Espanya. La recerca de fonts per a les relacions bilaterals de tot tipus es va iniciar al segle XIX. A partir d’aquest moment apareixen tres camps fonamentals on aprofundir. D’una banda tenim les relacions diplomàtiques i la seva vessant política a partir del segle XX. El desenvolupament de representacions consulars té a veure amb el creixement de l’activitat econòmica amb l’Índia britànica, especialment en el camp del proveïment de primeres matèries (cotó i jute). En aquest sentit, la recuperació de les relacions econòmiques va ser clau per al posterior mutu reconeixement diplomàtic el 1957 quan l’Índia ja era un estat independent. Entre mig queden anys de malvolença degut a la vinculació de Nehru amb el govern republicà durant la Guerra Civil i la posició de l’Índia en el cas d’Espanya a l’ONU. Un altre camp d’interès per a les relacions bilaterals es centra en la missió de Bombay que a partir de 1920 fou administrada per jesuïtes catalans, valencians i aragonesos. Finalment, un seguiment de la premsa i la intel•lectualitat espanyola mostra com l’Índia es va convertir a partir de 1920 en un nou focus d’interès informatiu i pel món acadèmic, com no ho havia estat fins llavors. Aquest descobriment de l’Índia per part de viatgers, artistes i periodistes obra una nova via d’intercanvi que es veurà trucada per la Guerra Civil i el posterior establiment d’un règim que destruí el teixit intel•lectual del país.